A Big O’l Bowl of Beans

You guys seriously rock.

The amount of responses i got on my previous post was overwhelming and its plain to see that we are a nation that is absolutely obsessed with our food. I read all of your comments and definitely tried to reply to all of them, you’ve taught me a lot over the pass few days, since each time i didn’t know a dish i researched its origins and how its made. What i found most fantastic was that people were proud to talk and divulge information on obscure dishes from their provinces that they would have a hard time to find elsewhere. This is exactly what i wanted; to solidify my belief that there is so much more to Filipino food than what the world knows or that even lots of pinoys know! Not only that i find it so great that not one recipe is the same; every family has its own recipe and their own techiniques; fine with me, as long as it tastes good and no short cuts are taken! (shortcuts include: broth cubes, msg, knorr, etc.). So I perused the whole list familiarised myself with all the entries and just started compiling a list so that i can try to announce what the definite top 5 most popular and loved dishes are. But before im able to complete that long tedious process (im going to cheat), im going to just pick my favourites from your favourites!

Enter Beans.

Beans are the warm fuzzy mink fur coats of vegetables. There is something about their oval shape and mushy interiors that make them so endearing to humans. One observation i’ve made is that as kids we love beans, we are constantly eating them, but then as we grow up, we lose sight of them. Call it the loss of innocence, the discovery of newer more exciting ingredients (chickpeas wooaahhh) or put it down to simple boredom. To be brutally honest, beans, just like many other childhood affections are usually burried as we get “smarter”, stronger, “better” and faster (thank you Kanye West for ruining those 4 words for me…). We seem to think that we outgrow these effects and become adults, but let me tell you, when you are completely gut wrenched, bent over and miserable the first thing you do is regress back to the fetal position on a hard, cold, tiled bathroom floor.

Enter Beans. Again.

In every region of the world you will find one bean dish that is known to all the locals and that brings back smiles long shelved and memories far replaced. France has the cassoulet, a hearty viking worthy stew with rendered pork fat and bacon bits (a personal favourite), mexico and most of south america have different versions of chilli con carne, a protein packed spiced up firecracker of a dish, South Africa has the Isophu a corn and bean soup, also known as a bowl of uummph in my language, our neighbours the Chinese use different beans in most of their desserts and what do we have in the Philippines? Well if you haven’t figured it out yet, no amount of additional litterary prowess is going to help. So without much further a due, i give you:

Munggo Guisado

Marinate some sukiyaki cut pork in some soy sauce, vinegar, chopped garlic, calamansi juice and chili flakes (just enough to cover it). Boil a cup of mung beans with 3 cups of water, let absorb. When half cooked add a kamote. When all is cooked through with a little liquid left, take off the fire. In a frying pan, fry off your pork in peanut oil, when caramelized add half a white onion, 2 quartered tomatoes, 3 crushed garlic cloves and some finely chopped ginger.

When your tomatoes are mushy and your onions see through, add some of your mung beans, enough to have a balanced mix, season and add in ampalaya tops until wilted. Plate, garnish with calamansi and season with salt, pepper and fish sauce and enjoy.

This with a glass of white wine, is better than any vice you can come up with. Unbutton that shirt. you’ll need the space.

That’s one of our family’s favorites in Filipino food!
As for our own version, we use malunggay leaves which we pick fresh from our backyard :D My dad also puts sotanghon and ours has more soup :) very delish and healthy. and of course, very Filipino! :)

game,, wait
for breakky 1-1/2 cup of brown rice then egg, sausage, hotdogs,bacon
for lunch i usually eat at the fast food coz no time to cook usually KFC and mcdo (thats the nearest chains in our school)
for dinner 1-2 cups of b.rice then typical filipino food like adobo(chix or pork)
sometimes im on with easy cooking food like french fries (when the helpers is out) and beef ,, my mom didn’t know about what you just replied to me earlier the leans etc,,
desserts,, usually crepe and ice creams

The first problem I see, is that there is a very high fat content in all the food you mentioned and you have a big lack of veggies and fruits.

Breakfast, you don’t need egg+rice+meats to function. I start my day with either a nice bowl of unsweetened oats or just 2 scrambled eggs, follow this up with a banana.

For lunch, prepare it in the morning, before heading to school, have some chopped cucumbers with onions and canned tuna or some brown rice with nice vegetables. If you really have to eat out, don’t go to fast foods. Try and find some soups or veggies in little canteens :)

For dinner, you shouldn’t be eating rice. Eat some veggies again or just a nice big salad. If you’re not sure about lean meats, then just stick to chicken breast or fish as your main proteins. And most importantly nothing should be deep fried or drenched in oil. Grill or steam when possible.

And each time you feel like having dessert, eat some apples instead.

Its hard,very hard and you’ll want to give up. But once you see results, you’ll be so proud of yourself.

That’s not bad.
Why 2 pieces of wheat bread, surely one is enough?
Lunch you could of just eaten the ampalaya guisado.
Dinner and dessert sound perfect :)

You see unless you are extremely active in endurance sports, you don’t really need carbs (even wheat or brown). However if you run a lot, go ahead. The trick is giving your body what it needs so that it turn it into fuel. If you eat something it won’t use, it’ll just be stored as fat.

That’s perfect! You could even eat some more for dinner and lunch. Just make sure its good stuff. Don’t under eat either :)

Running is a maintenance sport, meaning it won’t really make you lose weight drastically but it’ll help you stay healthy. Unless, you do short burst sprints like 2min sprints/2mins jog that’s 1 set, do as many as you can for an hour :) on those days you do these runs, you can eat wheat bread and brown rice.

thats perfect. pork tenderloin actually has more fat percentage. the best cut of pork is usually the shoulder or the leg. i just dont agree with the salad at brekkie. Your breakfast should be heavy and nutritional, not just salad haha!

januareeDecember 4, 2011 at 10:40 am

Haha for me there is no real side, since I’m only using it to extract all the juices. But yes I know most citrus should be cut in a certain way. Very crucial in oranges and lemons. But with calamansi I find that either works fine :)

I quite like your take on this loveliest of lovelies. The calamansi was a surprise! In my houselhold, monggo is cooked with a healthy portion of stewed tomatoes (skins off), julienned sun-dried tomatoes (the tartness of which perfectly tempers the patis), and when we can source it, served with thinly-sliced chashu pork, Japanese style (otherwise, ground meat has to suffice). Heaven in a soup bowl!

On lazy, rainy Sundays such as today, nothing, and I mean nothing beats it. I’m sure you know.

Siningang anything, i cannot agree more with this statement. The bitterness of tamarind is so refreshing and an unexpected flavour. Yup i actually used chashu pork here i like its consistency, just make sure not to use too much of it :)

looks delish man! will give it at try but i hate ampalaya leaves so much haha! I just wanna share this cuz, i’ve learned so much from you bud and in fact i’ve lost 10lbs (and counting) already in 3 months all my hard work from working out, dieting and playing rugby paid off! and its because of u, reading this kind of stuffs like your tips on cooking, healthy recipes, post workout meals! and also u’ve gave us motivation on how to loose weight, have an active lifestlye! all the best for u bro keep it up, keep on inspiring others and good luck on the naffnang awards!

KarenJune 19, 2013 at 2:03 am

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about THE FAT KID

I gained weight because of a sedentary lifestyle and overly indulging in foods I knew were bad for me, eating out too often, taking the easy route (microwavable dishes) and not caring what went in my body, before I knew it reached 240 lbs. I lost weight through pure dedication, tireless hours of hard work and yes, food. I cooked my way to fitness, making sure to only feed myself tasty well prepared dishes with all the right stuff, the perfect fuel, taking me down to 150lbs. Of course I indulge from time to time, as the fat kid still lurks inside of me; here you will find a little bit of everything for the sole purpose of sharing my passion for food and life.